WEBVTT ALL THE WAY TO PRAIRIE CITY TO USE THE BATHROOM. STEVE: CONTROVERSIAL IOWA CONGRESSMAN STEVE KING TOOK TO THE FLOOR OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TODAY TO DEFEND HIMSELF AGAINST GROWING ACCUSATIONS OF RACISM FROM HIS REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATIC COLLEAGUES. >> I REGRET THE HEARTBURN TH HAS POURED FORTH UPON THIS CONGRESS IN THIS COUNTRY AND ESPECIALLY IN MY STATE AND IN MY CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT BUT THE PEOPLE WHO KNOW ME KNOW I WOULDN’T HAVE TO EVEN MAKE THIS STATEMENT BECAUSE THEY DO KNOW ME THEY KNOW MY LIFE. THEY KNOW MY HISTORY STEVE: EARLIER THIS WEEK, KING WAS QUOTED IN AN INTERVIEW WITH " “THE NEW YORK TIMES” AS SAYING " “WHITE NATIONALIST, WHITE SUPREMACIST, WESTERN CIVILIZATION, HOW DID THAT LANGUAGE BECOME OFFENSIVE?” OTHER REPUBLICANS IMMEDIATELY CONDEMNED KING. ONE OF THEM, STATE SENATOR RANDY FEENSTRA, SAYS HE WILL NOW CHALLENGE THE 8-TERM CONGRESSMAN FOR THE REPUBLICAN NOMINATION THE FOURTH DISTRICT IN 2020. AND THE AMES TRIBUNE IS REPORTING TONIGHT THAT STORY COUNTY SUPERVISOR RICK SANDERS IS ALSO CONSIDERING A RUN AGAINST KI

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Iowa senators blast King over comments about white supremacy

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Updated: 12:59 PM CST Jan 12, 2019

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) —

U.S. Rep. Steve King, who’s known for his hard-line stances on immigration, abortion and gun rights, faced intensifying criticism from fellow Iowa Republicans who blasted him for his comments about white supremacy.

King, who has repeatedly denied that he is racist, was quoted in The New York Times saying, “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization – how did that language become offensive?”

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But U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican, in a tweet Saturday morning condemned the congressman’s remarks, saying “they are offensive and racist” and “not representative of our state.”

I condemn Rep. Steve King’s comments on white supremacy; they are offensive and racist - and not representative of our state of Iowa. We are a great nation and this divisiveness is hurting everyone. We cannot continue down this path if we want to continue to be a great nation.

Ernst and Grassley join a chorus of Republicans chastising Iowa’s longtime 4th Congressional District representative, who appeared on the House floor Friday.

“One phrase in that long article has created an unnecessary controversy. That was my mistake,” King told his colleagues. King said terms describing bigotry, such as racism, are unfairly applied to “otherwise innocent” people.

The chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa, Jeff Kaufmann, told the Mason City Globe Gazette that the term “white supremacy” and what it stands for “is not the spirit of the Republican Party or the spirit of this country.” He said he thinks the use of the terminology is “inappropriate.”

GOP Sen. Tim Scott, of South Carolina, said in an op-ed column that King’s comments and those like them are a blemish on the country and the Republican Party.

Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the third-ranking House Republican, tweeted that King's remarks are "abhorrent and racist and should have no place in our national discourse."

And Rep. Justin Amash, of Michigan, said, "This is an embrace of racism, and it has no place in Congress or anywhere."

King later tweeted that he regards white nationalism and white supremacy as "evil."